Shield for cultivators.



No. 825,684. PATENTED JULY 10, 1906..

H. VER HEUL. v SHIELD FOR CULTIVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE l, 1905.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 10, 1906.

Application filed .Tune 1,1905. Serial No. 263.294.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY VER HEUL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pella, in the county of Marion and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Shield for Cultivators, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of my invention are to provide a shield of simple, durable, and inexpensive construction and capable of adjustment to suit the requirements for different conditions of the ground being cultivated and designed to protect plants being cultivated from being buried or broken by clods of earth or the like and yet to permit the ground to be placed close to the plants being cultivated.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the shield, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the shield. Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of a cultivator-beam with my improved shield attached thereto as in use, and Fig. 3 shows an enlarged horizontal sectional view on the line 3 3 of F ig. 2.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference-numeral 10 to indicate a cultivator-beam, and 11 the cultivator-shovels thereon. Fixed to the beam 10 is the shield-supporting arm 12, extended from the cultivator-beam downwardly and rearwardly and then straight rearwardly. The body portion of the shield comprises a sheet-metal plate 13, pivotally connected at its forward end with the arm 12 by the bolt 14. At its rear end is a segmental slot 15, through which the bolt 16 is passed to adjustably connect the shield 13 with the arm 12. The lower edge of the shield at its forward end is curved downwardly and rearwardly at 17 and its lower edge is arranged horizontally. By a manipulation of the bolt 16 the lower edge of the shield may be tilted so as to stand in the most desirable position relative to the ground-surface. On one face of the shield 13 are two plates 18, having their margins turned inwardly at 19 toward the shield 13. These plates are adjustably secured to the shield 13 by the bolts 20. The shield-rods 21 and 22 have their end portions inserted between the plates 18 and the shield 13 and their central portions arranged horizontally. The end portions of these rods are also inserted between the margins 19 of the plates 18 and the bolts 20, so that they are irmly held in position when the bolts are drawn tight, and when the rods on the bolts are loosened these rods may be adjusted vertically independent of each other. By this arrangement the lower rod 22 forms a runner to rest upon the ground-surface and support the shield and the upper rod 21 stands spaced apart from it and the shield 13 stands spaced apart from the upper rod.4 The said rods may be adjusted relative to the shield and to each other to increase or diminish the size of the spaces between them.

In practical use the shield is advanced over a eld as close as possible to a row of plants being cultivated. The cultivatorshovels run on the outside of the shield and throw earth toward the row of plants and toward the shield. The said shield will permit fine earth to pass between the lower end of the art 13 and between the rods 2l and 22 to thereby pile up fine earth close to the plants being cultivated, While the shield 13 will prevent not only clods of earth, stones, &c., from fallin on the plants being cultivated, but it wil also prevent line earth from falling on them and burying them. I am aware that heretofore shields have been provided composed of rods longitudinally arranged to prevent clods of dirt from falling on the. plants being cultivated; but when these rods are used it frequently happens that the plants are buried by fine earth which may freely pass through the rods. It is desirable that clods of earth, stones, &c., be prevented from moving toward the plants being cultivated, and it is also desirable that a certain quantity of fine earth be thrown toward said plants. Hence by means of my improved construction the shield 13 may be made rto travel exactly the proper distance above the ground-surface by adjusting the rods 21 and 22. These rods will prevent clods of earth from falling toward the plants and will permit just the proper quantity of ine earth to move toward the plants, and the shield 13 will prevent not only clods of earth and stones, but also fine earth in excessive quantities, from moving toward the row of plants bein@` cultivated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat` ent of the United States therefor, is-

A shield for cultivators comprising an arm,

IIO

a shield-plate pivoted to said arm at its forward end, means for adjustably securing the shield-plate to the arm at its rear end, a num# ber of rods with their central portions parallel with each other and with the bottom of said shield-plate and With their end portions extended ystraight upwardly and resting against one side ofthe shield-plate and a device at each end of the shield-plate for adjustably Securing the upright ends of the rods to the shield-plate, said device comprising a flat plate'having its margins turned inwardly toward the shield-plate and two bolts passed through the Shield-pitt@ and Stia flat plate between the upright ends of the rods, said 15 bolts engaging the adjacent sides of the rods tween said plates and for holding them against lateral movement between said bolts and zo said inwardly-turned margins.

Witnesses:

GEO. J. THoMAssEN, JOHN G. THoMAssEN. 

